Prior breathable fabrics have been prepared with active absorptive carbon to absorb chemical agents and/or other absorptive chemical. These garments are still uncomfortable after long use and can be deactivated by ambient air and moisture prior to use if not kept sealed. Also after use, these garments constitute a toxic hazard until decontaminated or burned.
There are suits that offer a high degree of protection to the wearer that are limited to only chemical or biological agent protection which during use over 20 minutes become hot and uncomfortable. The build-up of heat inside a protective suite is an important issue, not only from the point of comfort but also from the point of view of safety. It is generally accepted that, if the core body temperature of the wearer rises by more than 1° C., he/she is at risk of heat stress which is dangerous and can even result in death.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,761 to Langley discloses a breathable non-woven composite fabric having barrier capabilities to biological fluids comprising an outer polypropylene micro-porous thermoplastic film bonded to a non-woven layer by ultrasonic point bonding, which is herein incorporated by reference.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20040121678 to Baldwin et al, which is herein incorporated by reference discloses a liquid and pathogen impervious laminate having a fibrous layer adhesively bonded to a breathable layer. The fibrous layer can be prepared by spunbonding, meltblowing and spunlacing techniques. However, the fibrous does not have biocide properties but can only block biocide penetration. The application also discusses various bonding techniques including the discontinuous coating of adhesives.
It is known that certain chemical compounds can chemically deactivate toxic chemical agents. Reactive agents can be in the form of:
1) Polyamine chemicals which react with reactive halogen compounds such as mustard gas, and phosphorous nerve agents. These polyamine compounds will also react irreversibly with all acidic chemicals and gases from sulfur dioxide, chlorine, bromine, hydrogen sulfide, to carbon dioxide to HF and acetic acid.
The polyamine can also be incorporated onto an acidic powdered in the same manner as above such as a sulfonic acid ion exchange resin, or powders containing maleic acid or sulfonic acids. Additional other salts can be made as powders or liquids to anchor down the reactive polyamine by reacting the polyamine with acids such as acetic acid, citric acid, phthalic acid and many more. Polyamines can be used to deactivate mustard gas and some nerve gases by attacking phosphorous or halogen sites.
2) Ammonium salts such as ammonium carbonate create a small vapor pressure of reactive ammonia above it and therefore in the reactive layer. Other reactive salts include those which are acidic such as ammonium dihydrogen phosphate or monoammonium sulfate. These are acidic salts which can react with basic chemical vapors such as ammonia and amines.
3) Reducing agents which will react with nitric oxide, nitrogen tetroxide, bromine, chlorine, and fluorine.
4) A layer or coating of cuprous salts or possibly ferrous or zinc salts will also react with sulfur and phosphorus containing vapors. (Mercury, cobalt and nickel salts are too toxic to incorporate into the reactive inner layer of these reactive suits).